Changes
by Irish Sphinx
Summary: Lily has no friends at Hogwarts. But what happens when Hogwarts decides to throw a festival, and Lily's friends are part of it? Add a Haughty Mr. Potter Sr. to the mix along with 2 new courses, and you get utter and completer meyhem...as per usual 19/06/0
1. Sirius is Slapped

**A/N: Thanks go to my beta, the spectacular Spectral Rose.**

**Disclaimer: It all belongs to the incredible Jo Rowling ((sobs)). I just like messing with their heads.**

"Before you all become too befuddled by our fabulous feast to listen to a word I say, I have an announcement to make!" Dumbledore cheerfully announced. "The start of term will be delayed for one week!"

Sounds of cheering met this announcement. Only one person was not cheering. Lily Anne Marie Evans was repeatedly banging her head on the table hoping that this was all a very bad dream.

'Start of term can't be delayed!'she thought fiercely, as if that would make Dumbledore change his mind, 'this means that I am now stuck in the same tower with four undistracted Marauders for an entire week! Seven days. Seven days in the same place as the arrogant, ignorant, idiotic, bullying idiots (I think I said that already, but let's say it one more time for good measure) that were Potter and Black! The two boys that had made her life living hell for the past five years! Pigs would fly before Lily Evans forgave either of them.

Lily was not pretty. Well, she wasn't until the beginning of this year. 'Course, she wasn't pretty now either. Now she was drop dead gorgeous. Up till last summer she was ugly. She had been short and fat. She'd had the worst case of acne known to man. Her blood red hair was always frizzy, and had been hexed all the colours of the rainbow at least once. Her emerald green eyes had been hidden behind thick glasses, and her horrible magnetic braces had been stuck to almost everything, compliments of the Marauders. She got top marks in all her classes, but was a "stuck up snob", and a "rebel"who had no friends at Hogwarts. Her attitude was still the same, the Marauders were still the same, but her looks could not have been more different. Over the summer, Lily and her two friends, her ONLY friends, had given her a make over. Bubotuber puss had cleared up her acne. Her friends had magically corrected her eyes and teeth. And she had grown. She was no longer 4'6" and extremely wide waisted. She was now 5'5" with an hourglass shape. She had discovered a charm that made her normally frizzy hair smooth and silky. She had added topaz and copper streaks to her blood red locks, and at the moment, she was listening to the Headmaster happily state that her life would be living hell for the next seven days.

Sirius Black and James Potter were sitting at the Gryffindor table, happily contemplating all the possibilities they would have for pranks in the next seven days, when James noticed something.

"Hey Pads," he said, "where's Evans?"

Startled, the two looked up and down the table. The was no short, fat, frizzy haired, stuck up, snobbish, acne faced Prefect anywhere.

"I dunno. Maybe she left!" Sirius said seriously.

"Maybe. She was supposed to be at the Prefects meeting on the train, but Remus said she wasn't there."

"Oh well. Looks like we got a new hottie though." Sirius said, eyeing the beautiful redhead. His girlfriend of the day huffed indignantly.

On the was back to the common room, in a deserted corridor, Sirius and James saw "the new girl" walking up ahead carrying her books and a guitar case.

"Hey!" Sirius called loudly. Loud enough to startle her into dropping her things. She turned around and waited for him to catch up, then promptly slapped him across the face.

"WHAT THE HE..." Sirius began.

"Pads," James interrupted when he saw the Prefect badge pinned to the girls chest as she walked away, "that was Evans."


	2. Something's Up

Thank you to my 6 reviewers! You guys ROCK!

**pheobesapphira**: Thank you so much. They are in 6th year! Thank you for noticing, because I forgot to mention it! Don't worry, I will never give up on my Sirius Slapping Story!

**Mara Valdez**: Hehe. No it won't be like One Half Teenager, One Half Doll. That's what I was worried about when I wrote the first chapter. I really liked having the other schools come for a contest though, so that is the only part that is the same.

**tennisjock: **Haha, yes I will continue it.

**BrazilianPrincess: **Haha. Yes, Lily does like to sing. Glad to hear you loved it!

**FairiesandDragons911**: Glad you like it! Here is the Next chapter and more are on the way.

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the rabid bunny comment. Every thing else belongs to the wonderful J. K. Rowling**.

**Thanks to my wonderful beta, Spectral Rose.**

End of last chapter:

_**SLAP**_

"_What the he..." Sirius began._

"_Pads," James said noticing the Prefect badge, "that was Evans."_

"No way! That was not Evans." Sirius said, awed.

"I wonder why she wasn't at the Prefect meeting."

"Dunno. Maybe we should get Remus to ask her."

"Good plan mate. Let's go."

In the common room:

"Hey Lily." Remus said as she entered.

Lily looked up sharply, but her expression softened when she saw who it was.

"Oh. Hey Remus."

"What's wrong?" He asked, "You look a little perturbed."

"Oh, it's nothing. One of your buddies tried to hit on me."

"What'd you do?"

"Slapped him."

"Serves 'em right. Why weren't you at the meeting on the train.?"

" I got here late. I had do some things."

"Like what?"

"Oh. Errr... well... y'see, that is, umm...Howwasyoursummer?" she stammered.

Something was up. Lily Evans does NOT stammer. Period.

"What? Oh. It was fine. Hey are you OK? You look a little pale."

"What? Mmm, yeah, I'm fine."

Suddenly two faces appeared from the portrait hole. When Lily saw who it was, she immediately grabbed her bag and guitar and ran to her dorm.

"What's up with her?" James wondered aloud.

" Dunno." Sirius said as he saw a flash of red.

"Hey Remus," he said, "was Evans just here?"

"Yeah."

"Did she say why she wasn't on the train?"

"She just said she had some things to do."

"Like what?"

"Didn't say."

"Know why?"

"No, why?"

"I asked you first. Haha." Sirius laughed.

"Okay dummy. I don't know. Now why?" Remus said, and he was more than a little anoyed by now.

"I don't know, I thought maybe you did."

"Idiot."

"Rabid bunny."

"Dork."

"Lame brain."

"Waldorf."

"What's that?"

"A type of salad."

"That's not an insult."

"It is now."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Guys, shut up. I think I see Evans."

"What?"

The three of them huddled by the window. Sure enough, down by the lake in a patch of moonlight, was Lily.

Something moved. She was sure of it. She heard a muffled 'Ow.' and saw three heads recede from the window.

"What did you do that for?"Sirius asked, rubbing his head where James had hit him.

"You were making too much noise. She might have heard us."

"I think she did hear us," Remus said, " She's gone."

"What?" James and Sirius said in unison.

No one saw the sleek black panther slip away into the darkness.

As soon as she saw James and Sirius emerge from the portrait hole, Lily grabbed her things and left. She did not want to face them right now. She could hear them talking, trying to pry Remus for information. 'What had Remus said? She looked pale?' Lily looked in the mirror. She did look pale. Her emerald eyes were glowing, and her hair was becoming a darker red, changing until it was the colour of dark blood. Lily sighed. She did not want to have to go through this again right now, but what choice did she have. Sighing, she cast an invisibility charm and snuck out of the dorm.

When she was down by the lake, she knelt in a patch of moonlight and stuck her hand in the water. They were watching her. Oh, she knew it. She could hear them even now, fighting about something.

"I can't see!" Sirius complained.

"Shut up. She'll hear you."

"I wanna see!"

"Be quiet."

"I can't see."

WHACK. James hit him.

She could hear them. And they knew it. She turned around and saw all three of them jump away from the window. She was getting tired of this. She might as well get it over with. She had to do it anyway. She sighed, transformed into a sleek black panther and slipped away into the shadows. 'Hey, a girl's gotta get blood somehow. And she hated human blood.'

**A/N: Have any of you figured out what Lily is yet? The first one to email me with the correct answer will get a oneshot written about anything they please (except slash or intimate romance. I don't do that stuff.) **


	3. You're a What?

A/N: Hi, sorry it took me so long to update, but I promise it will never take me 3 months to update again. I feel so bad about that. I hope all of you will like this new chapter, and I really hope that you're all still with me. I even made it longer this time. Just for Vindicated. And to BrazilianPrincess, instead of a oneshot, I'll put you're choice into a chapter, no matter how random it is, because Lily **is** a vampire. If you want to find out why, read on.

Oh yeah Disclaimer: the plot is mine, the marauders are not (along with anything else you recognize from the fab J.K.R.)

**You're a what?!**

Hello, my name is Lily Evans. I am 16 years old, and I have a terrible secret, well two secrets I suppose. One, I am an animagus. I am actually a legal animagus, so I suppose that one isn't really a legitimate secret. Two, I am a vampire. That is my darkest, and deepest secret. It is the one thing I am afraid of. I suppose it is a little foolish to be afraid of ones self, but you would be too if you were like me. Yes, I am a vampire, but I'm not like most vampires. I'm not the kind of vampire that everyone dresses up like on Hallowe'en. I'm not even sure that any vampire is like that. I don't run around threatening to bite peoples heads off, and I despise drinking human blood. It tastes like rotten fish, and it's too much like cannibalism for my taste.

I am a cursed vampire. I need blood to survive. The worst part of the curse is that blood replenishing potions don't work. I need an animals blood. I am so lucky that it only took me a year to become an animagus. I only have fangs twice a month though, that's a good thing. So, it's not like I walk around Hogwarts with my fangs barred for everyone to see. Thank goodness for that. Mostly because there are two people that I never want to find out about this affliction of mine. Potter, because he would blackmail me to heck and back if he found out, and Remus, because if he found out, I doubt he would ever speak to me again. That would be terrible. That's why I keep this secret. That's why I'm afraid of myself. That's why I transform twice a month, to get blood. That's why only two people at Hogwarts know my secret. Albus Dumbledore, because he let me come to Hogwarts even with my condition, even when Beauxbatons turned me down (I lived in France you know), and Minerva McGonagall, who took me in, and let me live with her, and has been like a mother to me ever since my parents were killed by _Voldemort_. As for Petunia, she went to live with one of her muggle friends. Unfortunately, a few people who aren't at Hogwarts know about me. Like the idiot who bit me for example.

"Hello, I am _Professor _Malfoy. I will be teaching you cooking this year." Lucius Malfoy announced.

"You're a what?!" Sirius exclaimed. Lucius Malfoy had graduated the year before, and all the 5th years (6th years now) had been extremely glad to be rid of him. Severus Snape, of course, was exceptionally glad to have him back.

"A _Professor,_ Black." Malfoy said.

"Oh, there's no need to call me professor, sir, but thanks anyway."

"20 points from Gryffindor for your cheek, Black."

"What!? What's wrong with my cheek? Is there something on it?" Sirius cried.

"Yes, there is. You've got a big red spot right there." Lily said, pointing to Sirius' left cheek.

"What? Show me, where is it?"

"Right ... there." Lily said as she slapped him.

"Oowwie! What was that for Lilsy?"

"Same thing as last time Black."

"Oh."

"Remind me never to get on her bad side." James whispered.

"Why did I take this class?" Lily moaned under her breath.

"And now...Back to class." Lucius said with enthusiasm that the class did not reflect.

A/N: bad thing about cooking-no one has ever had it before so they have to have one class in it before the other schools come.

"In this course, you will be learning to make meals with just a wand. But for today, we will use just our hands."

"Great." muttered marauders 1&2 (JP & SB)

"Today, we are making chocolate chip cookies." He waved his wand in an intricate gesture, that looked rather complicated for someone in black robes with a frilly hot pink apron tied around his waist, and chocolate chip cookie recipes appeared in front of each student.

"First, we make the batter." All around the room, people were scrambling around trying to find the things they needed to make the batter. Everyone that is, but Lily. She was calmly summoning things from around the room, making people duck or fall as flour flew over their heads, or eggs flew out of their hands.

"Don't forget to pre-heat your ovens class." Lucius sang, as ovens randomly appeared around the room.

Fortunately, one appeared right beside Lily.

"Hey," a Slytherin girl called Chessa said, "can I work with you? We're supposed to work in pairs, and everyone else has a partner."

Lily didn't see why not. Chessa was a decent girl, as Slytherin's went. Who knows, she might actually be Lily's first true friend at Hogwarts.

"Sure."

"Thanks." Chessa replied. "So do you know how to cook? I've only cooked a couple of times with my dad, but I know the basics."

"I used to cook at home all the time." Lily said. "I'm muggle born. I always did the cooking for my family until I came here."

"You're muggle born? You could never tell. My dad is a muggle. I've got no idea how I got into Slytherin, but I guess the hat saw something no one else did."

"Get cracking kids." the voice that made most Gryffindor's nauseous wafted over.

"I guess we should start." Chessa said.

So they cooked. Lily and Chessa came out top of the class, with chocolate chip cookies that even Lucius couldn't match. James and Sirius managed to get egg shells in their cookies. Remus and Valarie, a snobby Gryffindor that hated Lily, had cookies that were almost perfect (and probably would have been perfect if it weren't for Val.). Severus and Peter's cookies had bits of Styrofoam from the egg carton in them and tasted like salt. The others just ended up as half baked batter, or burnt batter, or on the floor.

'Great,' Lily thought to herself. ' only 5 more days of torture.'

5 days turned to 4 days, and 4 days turned to 3 days. Time passed quickly with Chessa and her cousin Ianna (also a Slytherin) there to help keep her mind of the horrible tortures the Marauders inflicted up on them.

Soon, the last day of the extended holiday came to a close. the other schools would arrive tomorrow, and along with them, would be Lily's closest friends.

A/N: good chapter? Sorry if it was too short. the next one will be longer. Promise.

LUV YOU ALL

SPHINXY


	4. The Unexpected

Hey All.

First off, I would like to start this chapter with an apology to everyone who was reading this before or during the period of 2 years where I didn't write a single chapter for any of my stories. I feel awful, but I'm not going to make any excuses. I will, however, try to make it up to you all. Here are some clarifications concerning the previous chapters:

Lily and the Marauders are in 6th year at Hogwarts

Dumbledore is planning some huge surprise and no one knows what it is

Malfoy teaches cooking

Lily is a vampire and has no friends at Hogwarts with the exception of Chessa who is (for the moment) a new acquaintance of Lily's

Lily came to Hogwarts in the middle of 4th year, after Christmas break

I realize there are some mistakes and changing years and such in the previous chapters so I hope this clears up any confusion there. I will fix those conflicting dates and small mistakes soon, but right now I am going to get on with posting this new (and hopefully refreshing) chapter.

Last note: Margret's nickname is Meg (**M**ar**g**r**e**t) and Tara Lee's nickname is Leena (Tar**aLee** - no idea where the n came from) and italics in conversation are the girls using hand signs (sign language: using the hands to form signs. Each different sign has a different meaning. Sign Language is how the deaf, mute or hard of hearing communicate.)

**Chapter 4**

**The Unexpected (arrives in a swirl of chaos and is immediately engulfed by a redheaded tornado)**

The new day dawned bright and clear, though the inhabitants of Hogwarts Castle didn't seem to notice much. The students were busy wasting their last day off from classes, and the teachers were scrambling to have the castle in order by 5 o'clock that evening. That was when the greatly anticipated arrival of The Guests was scheduled for.

Amidst the flurry of excitement, no one noticed a petite redheaded figure making its way to the Headmasters study.

"Cockroach Clusters," the figure said. The stone gargoyle leapt aside. The figure slowly made its way up the curving stairs and lightly rapped on the door.

"Do come in Lily," a voice called quietly from the other side of the door, a hint of mirth underlying the smooth tones of the Headmaster, "I've been expecting you since I made my announcement on the first day of school."

"Headmaster," the shy girl said tentatively, "two of the students that are coming, Margret Johnson from Beauxbatons and Tara Lee Trevail from Esperanza.." she paused.

"Yes?" The headmaster said patiently.

"They are friends of mine from before I came here… woulditbealrightiftheystayedwithmeinsteadoftheirassignedgroups?"

"Could you please repeat that last bit? A bit slower this time Miss Evans," the headmaster chuckled.

"Would…would it be alright if they stayed with me instead of the groups you assigned them to? You know, in my suite?" Lily bit her lower lip nervously. She had lived in her suite ever since she came to Hogwarts two years ago, in case she ever forgot to feed beforehand, or in case something overpowered her strongly enough that she lost control, so that she wouldn't harm anyone by accident. Her suite was a four room apartment in the teachers wing of the castle. This was so she could easily get help if she needed it. The suite was also in close proximity to the hospital wing where Madam Pomfrey lived. It had a modest bedroom with a dresser, closet and a luxurious bed, a spacious bathroom, a large common room with a fireplace and a large comfortable looking couch, and lastly a study with a desk, chair, a large bookshelf filled to bursting with books both magical and muggle, and surprisingly, a piano.

"Yes Lily, that will be fine. I will make the necessary arrangements with your apartment and alert the other Headmaster and -mistress to the changes."

"Thank you Headmaster," Lily ducked her head by way of thanks and turned to leave. She was nearly out the door when a quiet voice interrupted her thoughts.

"It gets very lonely trying to protect everyone from yourself doesn't it?" the Headmaster speculated knowingly.

"Yes sir. It does."

"Well if it gives you a bit of peace in your mind, the person whom your curse will urge you to kill…" Dumbledore paused.

" Yes," Lily whispered, afraid to do anything else.

"He is another whom you will find yourself unable to harm. Good day Lily."

And with that cryptic piece of advice, the Headmaster of Hogwarts turned and walked up the stairs to his suite leaving a very confused and slightly stunned Lily Evans standing in the doorway of his study.

**The Arrival of the Unexpected**

**Tara Lee Trevail**

I walked slowly through the halls of the huge castle. Many people stopped to stare at me. Honestly, don't these people have a life? I mean, if they have nothing better to do than stare at a seemingly Asian girl who attends a school in Spain, their lives must be very boring. Of course, all the new kids at my own school stare at me too, so this should really be nothing new.

We finally made it to the Great Hall where we were to be sorted, whatever that meant. Must be another insane idea from the same crackpot that decided we should come here to this draughty castle to have a muggle competition. The "Olympics," he called it. What was that crazy's name again? Oh right. Duffledore, or something like that. Oh well. Wait. Didn't Lily say something about some nutter letting her attend school even though most of the professors thought she was unsafe to be around? Maybe this is her school. Huh. That'd sure liven things up. And that nutter does sound like muggle-loving Dumbledope or whatever his name is.

We entered the Great Hall to "mingle" before the feast, after which we were to be sorted, when suddenly I was grabbed around the middle and spun in a circle before some weirdo started jabbering at me in French. She was talking faster than the average mind could process , and I knew only one person who could do that. "Lily!" I yelped, "Stop sneaking up on me!"

"Hand signs dearie," Lily laughed, "that way these idiots can overhear us, but can't understand us."

"Right," I sighed, "'cause that makes a lot of sense."

"Of course it does." Lily told me.

Alright, we'll do it your way, I gave in. It's easier to do that than to argue. Plus, the only other person who could sign would be Margret.

**Margret Johnson**

Sigh. Why did I have to come again? Right. Because Lily is here. Hopefully I would get over my floo-induced nausea soon. Why did we have to floo? I hate flooing. And it was an hour-long trip too. Oh well. I wonder where Lily is….and how Bumbledore or Dumblebee or whatever is planning to organize the Olympics. Maybe I'll get to room with Lils. I wonder if Leena came too? That would be awesome.

Lost in thought, I didn't notice that I was in the great hall until I was accosted by two blurs with their fingers flying in complex greetings. Slow down guys, I admonished. I can't understand you if you're going to sign at two hundred miles an hour.

We know, they signed in unison. It is creepy sometimes how in tune we are with each other.

Let's go sit, I suggested.

OK.

Lily led me to a seat at the end of one of the four long tables in the hall.

**At The Feast**

"Before we begin what I'm sure will be a delicious feast, I would like to say a few words," Dumbledore announced, "First, a huge welcome to the schools of Beauxbatons and Esperanza."

Applause burst out all around the hall.

"And second, dewit, humbug, zonkos, pip." Dumbledore sat down. The room was dead silent. Suddenly the silence was broken by food appearing on the tables and an "Awesome! FOOOOD!" from the Marauders section of the table.

"Is he always this mad?" Meg asked.

"Yep," Lily answered.

"I knew Dumbledope was off his rocker!" Leena stated.

"Well he can't be that bad, seeing as he's letting you two crazies stay with me," Lily smirked.

"You're kidding!" Leena and Meg exclaimed.

"Nope. We're just supposed to leave before the sorting. We know where you'll be staying, so you don't have to get sorted to a house."

When feast was finished Dumbledore stood up and nodded at Lily and her friends.

"There's our cue to leave," Lily said. The three girls got up and slipped out of the hall.

"I wonder what they're up to?" James whispered to Sirius.

"Don't care." Sirius replied with his mouth full of food. "They'd just better not be pulling a prank. That's our job."

"Sirius! Not cool!" Yelped Remus. "You spat food all over me."

"Sorry."

**Lily's Chambers**

"He said what?" the tall, skinny, and at the moment very confused girl burst out. To all appearances, the girl was Asian or of Asian decent, with coal black hair and a light, creamy complexion. The only starling feature about this girl was her ice blue eyes.

"He said 'the person whom your curse will urge you to kill is another whom you will find yourself unable to harm.'" Lily replied.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" the third girl in the room cried out. This one had wavy brown hair down to her shoulders and caramel-tinted hazel eyes. She was the shortest of the three.

"Hell if I know," the irritated redhead rolled her eyes, "Dumbledore's always had a flair for being cryptic."

"Formed a blood pact with anyone lately Lil?" the brunette asked teasingly.

"Ha ha ha, way to change the subject, Meg," Lily replied, "But no…and I think you two would know if I had."

"Yeah, you're right …again…" Meg sighed.

"You should really know better than to argue with Lil by now, Meg," the other girl, Tara Lee, teased. "She's always right."

"Hmm, you'd think after three and a half years I'd learn, wouldn't you?"

"If we didn't know you we would, but we know you never learn, so we won't expect a miracle to occur," Lily said with a smile.

"Yeah, you're right," Margret agreed. Then "Hey!" as she realized what Lily had actually said. All three girls collapsed into laughter.

**Sunday**

"Pssst,"

Lily opened her eyes, and was greeted by the sight of a wide awake and disgustingly cheerful Margret.

"You awake, Lil?"

"I am now," Lily muttered. "What time is it?"

"Nine," Meg answered.

"Ick. What do you want?"

"Wanna have some fun with Leena?"

"How so?"

"Let's wake her up and play Truth or Dare!"

"Okay…" Lily said slowly, knowing her friend, Truth or Dare could turn into a wrestling match, "How do you propose to wake her up?"

"Like this….OY! LEENA!" Meg said as she dumped a bucket of water over her friend's head.

"ARG!" Leena screeched. "What was that for?" she complained.

"Wanna play Truth or Dare?" Meg asked mischievously.

"Awesome…" Leena answered, a dangerous light in her eyes.

"Lily," Meg turned on her, "is there anyone in this castle that you know who would come play Truth or Dare with us?"

"Maybe…" Lily said as she thought, "Wait. Yes. Lemme get dressed and I'll go get them."

**10 minutes later**

Lily waltzed through the portrait hole into the Gryffindor common room.

"Well, someone thinks she owns the place," a sarcastic voice drifted over to her ears though she likely wasn't meant to hear it. She turned her head to address the speaker.

"Good morning to you too Black, Potter," she said as sarcastically as the first voice, "any idea where Remus is?"

"Right here," the aforementioned Marauder cut in.

"Hey," Lily said by way of greeting, "you and your buddies wanna play Truth or Dare?"

"Why are you asking us, Evans?" Sirius asked, "I thought you never spoke to anyone but the teachers."

"My friends wanted new people to play with. They're bored with me," Lily answered.

"We'd love to play, Lil," Remus said.

"Why?" Sirius cut in.

"Why would you love to play, or why are my friends bored with me?" Lily asked innocently.

"Why are they bored with you?"

"Oh. 'Cause I hardly ever pick dare and they know everything about me. Game gets kinda boring that way, don't you think?" Lily answered sweetly.

"Where should we go?" Remus cut in.

"My room. Ten Minutes." With that Lily left the Gryffindor common room leaving the boys staring after her.

"Why did you agree to play, Moony?" James whined.

"What? I thought you'd be happy to be in the same room with her, seeing as you never shut up about her, Prongs."

"Why did you say yes, Moony?" Sirius wondered, "And why did she ask us?"

"Probably because I'm her friend, Padfoot," Remus replied, "or for the reason she gave."

"You're her friend Moony? You're friends with the girl who hardly ever says two words to anyone unless it's a teacher?" Sirius asked in amazement.

"Yes. We have something in common."

"You're both gay?" Sirius guessed. The twinkle in his eye gave him away, for though he tried to be serious (no pun intended), his eyes gave him away.

"No, Padfoot. Don't get your hopes up. Just because I've never brought a girl to my room does not mean I'm gay." Remus admonished playfully.

"Then what?" James asked, curious now.

"That's for me to know and her to tell you when she's ready. Of course it might help if you were her friends, but anyway," he looked at his watch, "we're going to be late."

"Oh, come on, Moony….what do you know that she won't tell us?" Sirius whined.

"Look," Remus said, trying to be diplomatic, though cursing his loose tongue, "think of this as a Quidditch game. Would you trust the guy with the beater's bat on the other team with anything?"

"No…" Sirius said slowly, trying to figure out where this was going, "Wait. What? You're on her team?" he burst out after realizing what Remus had just said.

"No, Padfoot, you idiot. I'm simply the referee." Remus said, rolling his eyes. "We're definitely going to be late now."

Ten minutes later, the group of six (Peter didn't come) was assembled in the Room of Truth or Dare (formerly known as Lily's room) sitting in a circle on the floor. Lily was beside Remus and Meg, on Meg's other side was Sirius who was also beside Leena who was beside James, and James was next to Remus.

"Alright," Meg began, "Names please."

"Lily."

"Remus."

"James."

"Leena."

"Sirius."

"Seriously?" Leena broke in.

"Yes," Sirius replied.

"That is such an awesome name!" Sirius just looked at her, though he would never admit it, he felt pleased that this odd girl liked his name.

"And Meg," Meg said, completing the circle of names.

"Alright," Leena said, rubbing her hands together, "there's a truth spell on this room, so you have to tell the truth if you pick Truth. As for Dare," Leena and Meg pulled out their wands, "we'll take care of that."

"Who's first?" Sirius asked, breaking the awkward silence after Leena's little speech.

Sparks burst over the group's heads as the room chose the first victim.

**DUN DUN DUNNNN**


	5. The Worst Christmas Ever

The group waited as the room chose the first victim. _James_

"Jamesie-poo!" Sirius sang.

"Don't call me that!" James replied sternly. Sirius just raised an eyebrow and James snickered.

"Truth or Dare?"

"Hmm…Truth."

"You're no fun, you know that?" Sirius pouted.

"Yup." James smirked.

"Sigh. Ooh!" Sirius cackled evilly, "what's your greatest fear?"

"You know that already!" James exclaimed, desperately trying to get a different question.

"Doesn't matter," Sirius grinned, "You picked truth."

James stuffed his fist in his mouth, but "House Elves" was still distinguishable.

"House Elves?" Leena asked sceptically.

"Yes." James muttered shortly.

"Your turn," Sirius cackled.

"Meg," James said.

"Wow. You remembered my name. I'm impressed. Truth."

"How long have you three known each other?" He asked, gesturing towards the girls.

"Since we were about five. We went to kindergarten together." At James' blank look she added, "Muggle school."

James and Sirius shared a look, indicating that they still had no idea what Meg was talking about.

"Honestly you two," Remus sighed, exasperated.

"What?" they asked in unison.

"Smith discussed Muggle schooling last week, remember?"

"No," James shook his head.

"I take Muggle Studies?" Sirius asked incredulously, "Why?"

"Yes Sirius, every Wednesday afternoon. I seem to recall that you took it to piss off your family. And because Smith said she'd teach us to pick locks." he added as an afterthought.

The girls shared an amused look before Meg broke in, interrupting Remus' tirade on how important it is to pay attention in class. "Remus," she said, "truth or dare?"

"Dare," he said warily.

"Start a food fight in the great hall tomorrow," she began, noting Remus' slow nod of assent, "by throwing a pie at your Headmaster." She grinned, showing pearly white teeth. The fact that it was menacing in and of itself would not have been so bad, save for the fact that all three girls had their wands pointed directly at him.

"Okay, okay," he agreed desperately, backing out of the circle a little.

"Good," Meg grinned again.

"Lily, truth or dare?" Remus asked.

"Dare."

"Dye your hair green tomorrow."

"Done. Leena, dare?"

"Totally." Leena rolled her eyes. "What did you expect?"

Lily snorted. Then she had a very devious idea. She leaned across the circle so only Leena could hear her, and whispered "Sneak into the boys dorms tonight and prank them."

A slow smile spread over Leena's face. "Awesome," was her only reply. The boys now looked very frightened. Leena smiled evilly at their frightened faces and picked her first victim. "Sirius. Truth or Dare?"

Sirius, now very, _very_ frightened, mumbled, "Truth?"

"Wimp. Scaredy cat." Leena goaded.

"Fine. Dare." Sirius gave in, which was exactly what Leena was aiming for.

"Great. Tomorrow at lunch, dance across the teachers' table singing 'I'm a little tea pot' with a pair of boxers on your head."

The game continued for a few hours until it finally came back to Sirius again.

"Remus….." Sirius said, "Truth or dare?"

"Truth." Remus answered.

Sirius grinned, remembering what Remus had said earlier:

_You're her friend Moony? _

_**Yes. We have something in common.**_

_You're both gay?_

_**No, Padfoot.**_

_Then what?_

_**That's for me to know and her to tell you when she's ready.**_

"What do you know about Lily that we don't?"

Remus started. "Well, hmm, her favourite colour is blue, hmmm…" he began with simple things, hoping Lily would notice that he knew. "She's a brilliant flyer, she hates divination, she's never dated…." by this time Lily had realized Sirius knew that Remus knew something about her that he really wanted to know. He hadn't just asked out of curiosity. Then it hit her. Remus _knew_. And Sirius didn't know what he knew and wanted to know. Within two seconds she had grabbed Remus. Within five they were out the door. Lily half ran down the hallway to the window at the end, dragging Remus by his shirt collar.

When they reached the window she opened it and shouted, "Accio Nimbus 1500!" When it arrived she looked at Remus and said, "Get on."

Remus didn't argue. In a few moments they were on a flat outcropping above the North Tower.

"How…" Remus began.

"I come here a lot. To think." Lily answered. "Apparently I need to talk to you. But not where anyone might overhear. I take it you know that I'm a vampire?"

"Yes." Remus nodded.

"How did you find out?"

"Do you remember your first day at Hogwarts?" Lily nodded. "Fourth year, wasn't it?" Again, Lily nodded. "James insisted we sit near you at breakfast because you were a new face. I was beside Peter and across from Sirius. James was across from you."

"Yes…I remember the look on his face when he saw me clearly. I thought he might have died of fright." Lily gave a sad sort of laugh.

"And then we had potions and Slughorn paired us off for the term. As soon as you sat down beside me I knew. You have a very distinctive smell you know." He smiled. An obvious attempt to lighten the mood.

"Gee, thanks." Lily grinned. "I'm not the only one with a distinctive smell, wolf-boy."

Remus smiled. They sat out under the stars for about half an hour more before Lily said, "I guess we'd better go back now. My friends will think I killed you and ran off to hide your body."

"They know then? Your friends?" Remus asked curiously.

"Yes," Lily replied, "they knew me before I was turned. I wanted them to know the risks of staying friends with me after it happened. They were the ones that came up with the way for them to be safe around me."

"How'd they do that?" Remus saw a shadow of pain cross her face. "Sorry," he said, "I didn't mean to pry."

"No, it's alright. I should probably tell someone anyways…"

_Meanwhile, back in Lily's room…_

"WHAT the HELL did you think you were doing!?" Leena exploded at Sirius.

"Well….I…uhh…." Sirius began.

"The truth spell is off, but don't you dare lie to me." Leena continued.

"Remus knows something. And I want to know what he knows. With the truth spell it was like a golden opportunity." Sirius whimpered.

"And did you ever think that maybe it was something for Lily to disclose to the people of her choosing and not something to be joked around with in a game?" Meg said quietly. She didn't even sound mad. Just disappointed. Sirius almost wished she had yelled at him. But she didn't. She just stared at him with unblinking brown eyes, tinted with flecks of green and gold.

"Well I…well….no." Sirius admitted, shaking his head, his eyes on the floor.

"Just never, never under any circumstances, ask that question to anyone. Ever." Leena said menacingly.

"Ok." Sirius and James replied.

"Good."

_On the roof…_

"It began when I was eight, or around there. My best friend was Severus Snape. He was the one who told me all the weird things I could do were magic. Leena and Meg had both moved away when I was seven. When I was ten my family moved to France. When I was eleven I received my letter and went off to Beauxbatons. Petunia was furious. At Beauxbatons I met Meg and Leena again. On Christmas of my third year at Beauxbatons, Death Eaters attacked my family. And not just my parents and my sister. On Christmas every year we used to have the whole family for dinner. My parents' parents, my aunt and uncle, and my cousins, who were twenty-two and twenty-five. Everyone was there except Petunia, my sister, who had gone to her boyfriends for dinner. She was seventeen. When the first explosion came, mum told me to hide. I ran and hid in the branches of the apple tree that was in our yard." Lily looked up at Remus, tears streaming down her pale face, leaving red tracks in their wake. "I saw them die Remus," she continued, her voice cracking. "All of them. The Death Eaters surrounded them. They didn't stand a chance."

"Oh, Lily…" Remus whispered. Lily felt his arms encircle her from behind. She turned around in his comforting embrace and hugged him. Then she continued with her tale.

"One of the men walked through the bodies, then turned to face the leader of the masked men. 'You promised me payment, Lestrange. For helping you track the mudbloods to their lair.' He jerked his thumb at my cousins as he said Mudbloods, so I assume they were wizards. 'You'll get your payment.' Lestrange snarled." Lily's voice had taken on a faraway tone, as though she was describing an event she had seen in a movie. "Then the wind shifted and blew through my hair, towards the Death Eaters. The tracker lifted his head to the breeze and inhaled. Then his head swivelled around to point directly at me. 'I want _her_.' he told the other men. I was petrified. Surely they couldn't mean _me._ But then the Death Eater called Lestrange said, 'Take her.' Before I'd had time to blink the tracker was in the tree next to me. 'Hello.' he said pleasantly. I heard a loud _crack _as he disapperated with me. I don't know where we ended up. Only that it was very dark. Then he leaned in and put his lips to my ear and whispered, 'You're mine now.' and bit down. Then I screamed. I don't remember much after that. Only that there was a lot of screaming on my part." Lily leaned her head to the right and brushed her hair off her neck. In the light of the half moon, it was possible to see a small crescent moon shape on her neck. The imprint of the trackers' teeth. "And as if that wasn't enough, the bugger had to go and curse me too." she said bitterly. Seeing Remus' quizzical look, she added, "I'm forced to attack those that I care about most. I've been able to get around it with willpower and more frequent feeding, but sometimes it's too strong. Beauxbatons let me come back to school after Christmas, but at the end of the year they chucked me out. They didn't expel me, they just told me not to come back. Said I was a danger to the students. And they were right." The last part was added in an undertone, and Remus wasn't sure if he was meant to hear it. "Over the summer my friends found a way for me to be safe around them. We formed a blood pact. Since I can't kill myself, I couldn't harm them as long as they had some of my blood in them.

"We should be getting back now." She said suddenly.

Remus was surprised when she dropped him off at Gryffindor Tower.

"The others will be here by now." she said. "It's two a.m." she added by way of explanation.

As she walked away Remus called, "Hey! Wait!" She turned around and looked at him. He ran up beside her. "If you get lonely come hang out with the Marauders." he offered.

Lily turned slightly pink. "Oh. Thanks for offering Remus, but I…I can't. I'm sorry." She turned and started to walk away.

"What? You can't? Why not?"

"It's….I…It's because of James."

"What? What does James have to do with anything?"

"Do you remember what I told you about my curse?" Lily whispered.

"Yes. Of course I do….wait! You love James?" Remus was shocked. Lily nodded.

"You can't tell him Remus."

"Of course I won't." Lily sighed and started to walk down the hall again. She hadn't gone more than two paces before Remus caught up with her again. "Last question." he said.

"Shoot."

"Why do you act like you hate him?"

"I'm trying to protect him. If I don't let him get close to me I can't hurt him." She turned towards him suddenly, her eyes haunted. "It's so hard Remus. You have no idea how hard. I just….when I….It doesn't matter what I do to try and prevent it. Because whenever I'm around him, instinct takes over. It's so much stronger than any other time." Just then the portrait hole opened and James stepped out.

"Hey Moony! Where've you been?" He called.

"I've got to go." Lily whispered, and fled down the corridor.


End file.
